ESAB/Heliarc 252 question

Greetings all,

Well, my trusty ol' 252 is acting up, again. OK, it's not really mine, _technically_ it's my bosses, but you know what I mean, right?

Anywho, a little over a month ago it started acting up, at first it was like the hi freq. was having problems "lighting". We cleaned the contacts, no better. Replaced the contacts, no better. Spent over a week in the shop, they replaced the HF capacitor and transformer, brought it back saying it was fixed, NOT! It has actually been to two different shops, they keep putting it on a load back and say that it checks out fine, but after a fairly short time using the welder on AC, (welding 1/8" Alum.) it begins to act up. I am beginning to suspect that the problems is in the AC circuit somewhere as the HF is working, you can hear it crackling and see the little lightning bolts, however it does not want to "light" the main arc. GGGRRRR!!

My question, finally, is where could I find a schematic for this welder? I tried ESAB's website with no success, any other ideas?

Thanks in advance, Jim C Roberts

Reply to
Jim C Roberts
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Try replacing the TIG torch........ Phil Kangas

not really mine,

right?

at first it was

cleaned the contacts,

week in the shop,

back saying it

shops, they keep

but after a

Alum.) it begins to

AC circuit

and see the little

main arc.

for this welder?

Reply to
Phil Kangas

Phil,

Did that, sorta. Before they took the machine the last time we switched both the torch and ground off of another machine and it behaved the same. I may go ahead and swap it again and see if it helps, but I still think the problem lies in the AC circuit somewhere. But what do I know?? :)

Thanks for the reply Phil, Jim

Reply to
Jim C Roberts

Have you tried AC stick welding with it? If that gives you problems too you'll know it's an AC arc problem rather than a HF problem. Use a rod that welds easy like 6013. Try DC too to see if that makes a difference.

Best Regards, Keith Marshall snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com

"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"

Reply to
Keith Marshall

Keith,

That is a very interesting suggestion. That would be a great way to determine if the AC side is/is not working properly, as you said. I will have to try out in the morning.

Thanks Keith, Jim

Reply to
Jim C Roberts

You're welcome. Let us know what you find out.

BTW, a friend loaned my son and I an old Lincoln IdealArc TIG 250/250 so that my son could learn to TIG (me too). He didn't have a TIG torch on it but I had one that I'd picked up at an auction so he explained that to use it we should use the stinger as the ground and hook the ground to the TIG torch. That didn't make sense to me because it was an AC/DC machine and we should have been able to just switch the polarity and hook the stinger to the TIG torch and use the ground as ground but I didn't question it since he was the pro. :-)

When we got it home and started using it I found out why he was doing it that way. The AC/DC+/DC- switch would only work in one position. In AC or the opposite DC polarity there was no output. I removed the top cover and found that the contacts of the polarity switch had a huge glob of melted metal on it that kept it from working in any other position. I clean it off and burnished the contacts and it's worked great ever since.

In other words, you could have a similar problem. In my case I'm fairly certain it happened because someone switched it while welding. Sounds like you've been using this machine for quite a while and the problem has been intermittent so I doubt it's the same situation but it could still be a very simple fix.

Best Regards, Keith Marshall snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com

"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"

Reply to
Keith Marshall

Keith,

I done the stick welding this morning, 6011 1/8" rods, it worked fine. Go figure. It worked for a little while on TIG this morning, then got to where it would not "light". So, it left this evening on the back of a truck headed for the repair shop. I asked the guy if he could bring it back "Blue", hey it doesn't hurt to dream, right? I did ask a local supplier for a price on a comparable Miller. He said a Miller 250 with the Tig-runner package would be about $3200US, his associate that picked up the ESAB today said he could get us a little better deal. Dreaming again, but what the heck.

Thanks again for the reply Keith, Jim

Reply to
Jim C Roberts

You're welcome. It was worth a try at least. :-)

That's a lot of money but depending on your situation down time can cost quite a bit too so it may be worth it if the ESAB continues to give you trouble.

Good luck!

Best Regards, Keith Marshall snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com

"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"

Reply to
Keith Marshall

It sounds like you did stick OK, _then_ TIG for awhile. I know it's too late now, but you should have tried the stick after the TIG stopped. Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

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